Moment Gold Coast Suns AFLW signing put fear into two-time grand finalists Brisbane Lions

KITARA Whap-Farrara is the sprint queen and Suns AFLW signing who has already put the likes of the Brisbane Lions on notice a season out from Gold Coast's inception into the competition.

KITARA Whap-Farrara is the sprint queen and Suns AFLW signing who has already put the likes of the Brisbane Lions on notice a season out from Gold Coast's inception into the competition.

Whap-Farrara was unveiled last week as one of three Suns academy players who became the first signed by the club for its AFLW team that will enter the league in 2020.

The 17-year-old gave up a promising sprinting career to chase her AFLW dream and it’s now paid off.

“I had to make the tough decision two years ago to choose either sprinting or the AFL,” Whap-Farrara said.

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“I picked footy hoping I’d get somewhere with it and look where I am now.

“My dad introduced me to footy because he thought I’d like to do it as a hobby between sprinting nearly every day.

“I fell in love with it the moment I played.”

Whap-Farrar trained under elite sprint coach and former Australian Kangaroos rugby league winger Lionel Williamson and excelled over 100m, 200m and 400m at multiple state championships. She can run 100m in around 13 seconds.

Kitara Whap-Farrar is among the first three signings for Gold Coast’s AFLW team. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images.

Now her focus is on turning opposition attacks around while playing halfback and through the midfield.

“Even after going into Aussie rules I still did my sprint work with Lionel. He is an amazing coach,” Whap-Farrara said.”

“He helped me keep my speed and agility that made me stand out for footy.”

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Whap-Farrara gave the Lions an early glimpse of what to expect in 2020 in December last year.

The Cairns flyer was told by Brisbane coaching officials to slow down after taking too many intercepts while doing a routine drill as part of her work with the national women’s academy.

Whap-Farrara moved to Nerang at the end of January and will play for either Coolangatta or Bond University in the QAFLW.